Keepers
Keepers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Curator Token
- 8 Keeper Tokens
- 8 Voting Dials
- 120 Cards
- Play Mat
Gameplay Summary
Players will each get one round (or two in a 3-4 player game) as the Curator. The Curator will look at their own cards and choose any word that is NOT a noun (in general, adjectives and adverbs work best).
Then all players, including the Curator, will choose a card from their own hand that they think most aligns with the word OR one that they think least aligns with the word.
Each player then gives their card(s) to the Curator who then shuffles all of the cards together without looking at them. Players will each cast votes on cards they think most and/or least align with the word. The cards that receive the most votes become Keepers.
The players that played the cards that are now Keepers take them and place them in their scoring pile and count them as points. The cards that are not Keepers are discarded.
Once all players have had a chance to be the Curator, the game is over and the player with the most Keepers wins!
Keepers Setup
- Give each player a Voting Dial (or two in a 3-4 player game) and a Keeper Token.
- Place the Playmat on the table with the long side facing most players.
- Shuffle the Keepers Cards and form a few decks so all players have a deck within their reach to draw from.
- Each player draws 7 cards for their starting hand.
- The youngest player puts the Curator Token in front of them.
Rules
The game is played in Rounds. Each Round is as follows:
- The Curator chooses one of their cards and then announces a word (one word only!). The word cannot be a noun (or pronoun). This means no persons, places, or things. Important! The word does not necessarily need to match or describe the card the Curator is choosing! In a 3-4 player game, the Curator chooses 2 cards (but still only announces 1 word).
- All other players choose a card from their hand and give it to the Curator face down. In a 3-4 player game, choose 2 cards to play.
- The Curator shuffles their card and the other players' cards without looking at them and then reveals them one at a time in a line from left to right on the play mat. The left most card is the "1" card and they go in sequence after that, "2", then "3", then "4", and so on. There will always be at least 5 cards (from 5 - 8 depending on player count).
- Each player secretly takes their Voting Dial(s) and votes by turning to the number on the dial of the card they want to vote for and placing the dial face down in front of them. You may NOT vote for your own card and you MUST vote. Players can vote for which card they think is most aligned with the word by turning to a green number with a circle around it or which one they think is least aligned with the word by turning to a red number. Players with two votes (in a 3-4 player game) can cast both votes in the same category if they wish, or one in each category, but each vote must be cast for a different card.
- When all players have secretly cast their votes, they are all revealed and counted. The card that has the most votes in each category (green and red) is a Keeper, and the player(s) that played the winning Keeper Card(s) puts them underneath their Keeper Token. Important! In the case of a tie for most votes in a category, each card tied for the most votes is considered a Keeper!
- Discard the cards that were not Keepers into a general discard pile.
- Each player should draw a card (or cards) to replenish their hand to 7 cards.
- Once everyone has had a turn as the Curator, the game ends and it is time to see who has the highest score. Otherwise, the Curator passes the Curator Token clockwise and a new round begins. For a longer game, play until each player has had 2 or even 3 turns as the Curator.
Voting Dials
- Match: green with circle
- Does Not Match: red number only
Winning the Game
Each Keeper Card a player has collected is worth 1 point. Whoever has the most Keepers wins!
If there is a tie for most Keepers at the end of the game, take all of the Keepers from ALL players and shuffle them together, then deal 3 each to the TIED players. Each chooses ONE card to use in a final round and they are shuffled together face down. There is no word declared. All player besides the tied players vote for their favorite picture. If there is a tie again, repeat this process until there is no longer a tie.
An Example Round
Katelyn is the Curator in a 5-player game of Keepers. She looks at her hand and sees a card and thinks she has a perfect word for it.
She declares "Slippery" as the non-noun word. Ryan, Taylor, Patrick, and Susan all look through their cards to find one that matches that description. The light bulbs go on for Ryan and Taylor, but Patrick and Susan don't have great options. They decide on cards that DON'T match the description very well.
All of the players give their cards face down to Katelyn, who takes them and shuffles them along with hers. She then deals the cards out #1 to #5 on the Playmat.
Now the voting begins. Each player takes their dial and thinks about which card that is NOT their own, they want to vote for.
Katelyn played the card on #4 which she thinks is really slippery! But there are some other good choices for slippery in #2 and #3. To give her card the best chance, she decides to vote for one of the cards that does NOT look slippery at all.
She turns her dial to the red 1 and puts her dial face down in front of her and waits for the rest. The others finish voting and then when everyone is ready, they reveal their voting dials.
To Katelyn's chagrin, her picture only gets one vote. Two of the others decided that #2 most aligned with the word "slippery". Patrick fist pumped and exclaimed, "That was mine!"
Patrick voted for #5 and Katelyn voted for #1 for the least aligned match. Because they are tied, both cards will be Keepers. Unfortunately for Susan and Katelyn, their cards (#3 and #4) are not Keepers and are discarded.
"I played the Meercats!" Ryan says taking that card and putting into his score pile. "Mine was the Salamander." Taylor says and puts it into his score pile. Patrick in his excitement had already taken his card for his own score pile.
Some discussion ensues and the group discusses their thought process and admires the beautiful scenes of the cards. "I thought I had that!" Katelyn says before passing the Curator token to her left and a new round begins.
Strategies, Tips, & Other Notes
Can I...?
Yes! You can do that. When playing Keepers, players often wonder if they will "break" or mess up the game by doing something contrarian. They often timidly wonder if they can do something... strange. The answer is YES! Feel free to give a clue entirely unrelated to your cards. Or vote for any card you want for any reason at all, even if it doesn't make sense. We promise that the game will hold up to this type of play and it is even encouraged, as doing something contrarian (aka clever!) at the right time just might give you an advantage!
Do all ties for most votes really score?
Yes! If you have the most votes for match OR least match, your card scores, even if it is tied. It is more fun to score than not score, so this is why all ties for highest votes score!
How can we make the game a bit longer?
Simply play additional rounds and continue tracking your points. You could even keep playing until the deck runs out if you want to!
When should I place my voting dial?
Don't place your voting dials until everyone reveals! After everyone has voted, placing the dials near the card you voted for can be helpful for counting the votes. Just be careful not to do this before everyone is ready to reveal their vote!
Friendly banter is fun and highly encouraged!
Keepers is meant to be a game that encourages conversations and witty banter. Feel free to explain your actions and discuss what you were thinking. You can even talk about something else entirely since the game is simple and easy to play.
Quick-Start Summary
Setup Summary
Shuffle the cards and create a few face down draw piles. Each Player draws 7 cards for their starting hand and takes one* voting dial. The youngest player gets the Curator Token.
Round Summary
- The Curator chooses a card from their hand and announces a word that is NOT a noun.
- All other players choose one* card and pass it to the Curator face down.
- The Curator shuffles the cards without looking at them and deals them out face up in the numbered spots on the play mat.
- Each player will then use their voting dial to secretly vote for the card that they think most (green) OR least (red) aligns with the Curator's word.
- Once all players are ready, the dials are revealed and the votes are tallied.
- Players who played the card(s) with the most votes in each category (red and green) are Keepers. Ties for first place in each category are all Keepers.
- Players who played a Keeper take the card and place it under their Keeper token.
- All cards that weren't Keepers are discarded.
- Each player draws a card to replace the one they played.
- Pass the Curator token clockwise to the next player.
Game End and Final Scoring
After each player has had a turn to be the Curator, players should count the cards under their Keeper token. Highest number of Keepers wins.
*If playing with 3 or 4 players, each player will take 2 voting dials during setup and will play 2 cards each round.